Quaker Action

This page details some of the many projects that the Meeting is currently supporting.

Projects of the Meeting

As of January 2014, Vancouver Monthly Meeting has five projects for which it is possible to make earmarked tax deductable donations.  Friends and attenders are invited to join support committees for projects as moved

Nicaraguan Casa Materna – Mary Ann Jackman

For more than 20 years, the Casa Materna in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, has worked to reduce maternal and infant death rates, additionally providing pre-natal and post-natal care and education for mothers from rural areas with high risk pregnancies. Aggie Black leads the Vancouver Monthly Meeting “Circle of Support” for Casa Materna, whose goal is to raise enough funds each year to pay the annual salary of one of the registered nurses who provide 24-hour care for the expectant Moms at Casa Materna ($4000). For more details, visit www.casamaterna.org or contact Aggie: .

Restorative Justice in Federal Prisons

For several years, Friend Meredith Egan has worked with crime victims, staff and inmates in federal prisons in B.C. to explore how restorative approaches can be used inside to help those most affected by incarceration understand the impact of their behaviour. The courses and training events offered to inmates, staff and volunteers create opportunities to hear one another’s stories, learn about accountability, and support one another both inside and during re-integration into the community. The emphasis is on participatory and experiential learning, and the goal is to reduce incidences of crime and victimisation. Contact Meredith Egan at for information on how you might participate or otherwise support this important work.

Projects in Partnership with the Villagers of Chatamilu, Kenya

Scholarship Fund: In 2006 Vancouver Monthly Meeting set up a scholarship fund while the Chatamilu Primary School was still under construction.  The school is now completed and the Meeting currently supports a number of bright and needy graduates of the Primary School so they are able to attend Secondary Schools. Three high school students graduated in December 2011. Two are now enrolled in university and one in a two-year teachers’ college program.

Chatamilu Widows and Orphans Livestock Project: This project gives bred heifers and chickens to the women of Chatamilu Village who have banded together to support each other and care for 50 orphans in the community.   When the heifers calve,  each calf is given to another family.  Over time a dairy herd and flocks of chickens will provide income for the families and dairy products and eggs for the children. This project has become self-sustaining. As of November 2012, 31 of the 35 women in the group have heifers or cows. The next four heifer calves to be born will be passed on to the remaining women who don’t yet have animals in their care.

Proposed Chatamilu vocational/technical School: We are looking for a group to take on a phase of this five year project. The Chatamilu Community is ready to go ahead with this project as soon as a  group is found that will take on the fund raising.

Please see our Chatimilu School Project site for more information on these projects.

Palestinian Center for Rapprochement (PCR), Beit Sahour (near Bethlehem)

PCR trains young people in public service and nonviolence and offers skills to enhance students’ academic performance and social behaviour, as well as IMEMC (the Inter-national Middle East Media Center). Founded in 2004, IMEMC is a trusted media source for many foreign missions in Palestine and Israel and for the international volunteers in Palestine. Vancouver MM, along with Prairie and Ottawa MMs, has been supporting IMEMC through CFSC for several years.  Although PCR staff may now use these funds for whichever of their projects they see fit, IMEMC remains the PCR project most in need of our help (see also www.imemc.org). Contact

Ad Hoc Refugee Committee

This committee works with the Refugee Committee of the Unitarian Church of Vancouver in sponsoring refugees and providing for their first year in the Vancouver area.  Activities include fundraising, helping with applications, tutoring refugees in English, accompanying them to various activities in order to help with the logistics of settling in and learning about Canadian life and culture. Catherine Smith is the clerk of this committee.